Looking at the final District 4-4A
standings, the improvements the Denton baseball team made were fairly marginal.

Last season, Denton went winless in 12
district games. This year, the Broncos only managed a 1-11 record in district
play, finishing 9-17 overall.

But in Glen Harrison’s second year as
head coach, the Broncos have made plenty of strides to move away from their
recent struggles. Denton improved its fielding percentage and batting average
while almost cutting its ERA in half.

The only obstacle Denton couldn’t
abolish was the ability to win close games. The Broncos were 0-6 in games
decided by two runs or less.

“It always seems like we have one bad
inning, one inning where they have a big inning and we can’t counter,” Harrison
said. “That was pretty much the difference in every district contest, with the
exception of a couple games.”

In Denton’s first district game, the
Broncos blew a seventh-inning lead against Wichita Falls. Denton responded with
a 4-0 win over Little Elm. From there, the Broncos were unable to pick up the
wins necessary for a playoff berth.

Offensive woes plagued Denton during
district play. The team raised its batting average by .019 from last season to
.250, but the Broncos only batted .181 in district.

Zach Wilson, Steven Natividad, Mark
Johnson, Nick Carrell and Carlos Fleury all finished the year with an average
over .275. Only Johnson’s .342 average cleared the benchmark in 4-4A play.

Despite all the statistical improvements
made in 2012, the psychological change in the way the Broncos approached the
season was the biggest transformation.

“They wanted to win, where in the past,
from what I’ve heard from [the team], they were just playing because it was
just something to do and something to do that was fun,” Wilson said. “Winning
makes it fun, but we lost as a team and we took that to heart. I think we
learned that losing isn’t fun, and it’s not fun to come to practice when you
lost the day before.”

Wilson joined Denton after playing at
Liberty Christian. He led the Broncos in batting average (.426), and went 2-4
on the mound despite having a 2.57 ERA in 49 innings of work. Wilson became
academically ineligible right before the season ended and has signed with
Dallas Christian pending his graduation.

Terrance Lucas said the team was pleased
in the way it stayed in ballgames all season long. Lucas said the team never
got depressed as the losses mounted, and the outfielder echoed Wilson's
sentiments.

“Last year I don’t think we took it
serious,” Lucas said. “This year, everybody was willing to work and was really
dedicated.”

Harrison acknowledged that the process
it takes to turn around a program doesn’t happen quickly. But after two
seasons, the Broncos are starting to believe and apply Harrison’s teaching.

“Our guys, they’re buying into what
we’re doing in and out of the locker room, what they’re doing out in the public
and on the field,” Harrison said. “It takes a little while to get that
philosophy interjected into the system. They are getting it.”

The Broncos are losing nine seniors and
following realignment, Denton faces the challenge of having new teams like
Guyer and Trophy Club Byron Nelson enter District 5-4A, the Broncos’ future
home.

Denton is also losing Wilson, Litchen
and Carrell, the top three pitchers in their rotation. Harrison said he expects
the likes of Roman Arnold, John Collins, Josh Chavez and a few others to help
fill the vacancies.

Denton’s junior varsity squad had the
best district record this season, a sign of good things in the future. For
Harrison, hope abounds in the experienced players returning next year and the
players’ desire to improve.

“It’s a good baseball core that loves
the game, and that’s what I’m excited about,” Harrison said.“They’re going to
work hard, and they love playing the game.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Denton’s changes from last season:

2011

Category

2012

68

Errors

48

.873

Fielding %

.933

6.65

ERA

3.70

114

Runs

111

.231

Batting average

.250

0

District Wins

1

Comments

DentonRC.com is now using Facebook Comments. To post a comment, log into Facebook and then add your comment below. Your comment is subject to Facebook's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service on data use. If you don't want your comment to appear on Facebook, uncheck the 'Post to Facebook' box. To find out more, read the FAQ .